Otto Pfister has been involved in Association football for almost 60 years, he began his coaching career in Switzerland as player-coach in 1961 at the age of just 23. Pfister's early coaching experience was gained with FC Vaduz, FC St. Gallen, FC Nordstern Basel, FC Moutier and finally FC Chur 97.[3] He has worked as Head Coach for 10 International football teams, eight from Africa and two from Asia. In June 1972, at the age of 34, Pfister retired from his playing days and left Switzerland for Africa, taking the reins as the Head Coach of Rwanda. Pfister would stay in Africa for 23 years until 1995 working as the Head Coach for five other African Nations. Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Zaire (now DR Congo) and Ghana. In 1995, Pfister worked inside the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as the Head Coach of Bangladesh National Team and also Saudi Arabia from 1997 - 1999. Pfister returned to club football over the following six years with Egyptian team Zamalek, Tunisian club CS Sfaxien, Lebanese club Nejmeh and Egyptian club Al-Masry. Pfister was selected as the head coach of Togo on February 18, 2006, after former coach Stephen Keshi was dismissed from the post despite having secured qualification for their first World Cup Finals.[4] Pfister himself resigned shortly before the team's first match in the tournament, after his players went on strike against the federation over a pay dispute,[5] but he was reappointed three days later after demands from the players.[6] Pfister was appointed Manager of Sudanese club Al-Merreikh on September 8, 2006 and would later leave this position on October 26, 2007. The following day Pfister would sign a contract as the Head Coach of Cameroon taking him through until 2010. As of March 24, 2011, Pfister was unveiled as head coach of Trinidad and Tobago.[7] In February 2014, at his age 76, he made a return to the head coach of Al-Merreikh, a team he had previously guided to the final of the 2007 CAF Confederation Cup.[8]

Ghana qualified for the 1992 African Cup of Nations after finishing top of their qualifying group. Ghana qualified to the Quarter-finals after two 1–0 victories over Egypt and Zambia in the first round of the final tournament. Ghana beat Congo national football team to take them through to the Semi-finals where they beat Nigeria, 2–1. On January 26, 1992 in Senegal, Ghana played Côte d'Ivoire in the final of the African Cup of Nations. After extra time the final score was 0–0 and the game entered penalties. After a marathon penalty shootout, the Côte d'Ivoire finally won 11–10 on penalties. The penalty shootout was significant in that it was the first in the final of a major international tournament that every player on the pitch took a penalty.

Otto Pfister was selected to lead the Togo National football team three Months before World Cup 2006 after Stephen Keshi was sacked. Prior to the World Cup, players went on strike because of unpaid bonuses. Faced with the rebellion over bonuses, Pfister walked out, saying he could take no more. Pfister was reinstated three days later after demands from players and FTF staff.

Sports commentators such as Ed Kavalee ensured that this dispute was resolved with a high level of transparency, with countries as far away as Australia receiving constant Pfister updates.

Togo lost their opening game of the World Cup, despite having taken the lead against South Korea through a goal by Mohamed Kader. In the second half, Jean-Paul Abalo was sent off after 55 minutes, and goals from Lee Chun-Soo and Ahn Jung-Hwan sealed a 2–1 defeat for Togo. Togo's next opponents in Group G were Switzerland, with the match scheduled for the afternoon of 19 June. However, the Togo squad threatened to refuse to fulfil the fixture and take strike action against unpaid bonuses. FIFA negotiated with the squad on 17 June, persuading them to travel to Dortmund in time to fulfil the fixture; goals from Alexander Frei and Tranquillo Barnetta resulted in a 2–0 defeat. Togo's final group game against France ended in 2–0 defeat.